42 posts tagged "Maison Martin Margiela"
Out With A Bling: Couture Closes with Haute Joaillerie
From Dior’s demure gowns to Maison Martin Margiela’s high-fashion denim, the Spring ’13 Haute Couture shows had a lot to offer. But when it comes to couture, no look is quite complete without some jewels to go with it. As the last collections walked the runways today, some of the biggest houses debuted their Haute Joaillerie collections in Paris. Tina Isaac reports back on the most opulent baubles from Chanel, Dior, Louis Vuitton, and more.
Boucheron
Snakes are already trending for 2013—but it’s worth remembering that Boucheron has been turning them out for well over a century. For Spring, the house has rifled the archives and polished up hallmark designs from its first Serpent collection of 1968, giving them a more contemporary spin. Serpent rings in sculpted gold, beading, and the house’s signature snow setting—an eye-catching pavé of studied randomness—come with one head or two, in three sizes; pendants with honeycomb backs can be worn as a necklace or mounted as brooches on gold safety pins. Chanel
For the first time, Chanel dedicated its entire high jewelry collection—all ninety-nine pieces—to a single theme: the camellia. The flower appeared rendered every which way: mounted into 3-D diamond swirls; flattened into graphic diamond pavé etched with a black spinel border; sculpted in onyx and white coral; fashioned into a diamond, gold and lacquer ring rendition of Mademoiselle’s celebrated Coromandel screens; or articulated in a big, colorful “origami” of pink sapphires and other stones.
Dior
As a prelude to the presentation of her new collection next July, Victoire de Castellane showed a curated selection of additions to existing collections. These included a trio of slimmer caned rings and bracelets in the My Dior collection, a Les Précieuses garden-inspired necklace anchored by a sizable emerald, a Toi et Moi rose-shaped ring in diamonds and emeralds, and a unique set of antique cameos mounted into earrings for the Coffret collection. Meanwhile, the house’s watch lines are expanding fast. Colored gems offset black or white ceramic settings in the Dior 8 line, russet feathers fan into the skirt-shaped oscillating weight on the new model of the Grand Bal watch, and a trio of Mini D watches feature zingy fuchsia, turquoise, or neon yellow bands. Louis Vuitton
The latest addition to the Place Vendôme continues its travel through time, expanding the Vuitton galaxy with new takes on classic motifs. For instance, Vuitton showed new iterations of its lacy, articulated “knife edge” settings on a collar necklace. There was also a Monogram Infini fractal mandala and delicate bracelets mounted with the house’s signature star and flower cut diamonds. If there’s anyone out there who didn’t know the house was a new installation (Vuitton opened its Vendôme boutique and workshop in 2012), they could easily be forgiven for mistaking the diamond chandelier earrings for pieces that emerged from a bygone era.
H&M: From the High Street to the Runway
This season, H&M—the Swedish high-street retailer best known for its high-low fashion collaborations with the likes of Karl Lagerfeld, Comme des Garçons, Versace, and, most recently, Maison Martin Margiela, will show its Fall ’13 collection on February 27, during Paris fashion week. This marks the first time the retailer has presented its collection via a fashion show since 2005 (unless, as WWD notes, you count the events for the limited-edition designer collaborations, or the 2010 Lanvin for H&M “couture” show that featured Dree Hemingway and Pixie Geldof, pictured left).
H&M joins retailers like Topshop (whose Unique show has been one of the hottest tickets at London fashion week since it began in 2005), J.Crew (the brand made its official New York fashion week debut in 2011), and now, thanks to its collaboration with Rihanna, River Island (Fall ’13 marks the fast-fashion retailer’s first time on the London fashion week calendar) in revealing its collection on fashion’s international stage. This is a smart move for H&M, one that is perhaps indicative of consumers’ high-low styling tendencies (à la Michelle Obama at the inauguration, with her now infamous J.Crew belt and custom Thom Browne coat). Fashion-savvy men and women have been mixing H&M’s affordable wares with pieces by luxury labels for years now, so why not show both fashion varieties in the same context?
Browsing Kenzo, Missoni, Mara Hoffman, And Comme des Garçons—Without Leaving Your Hotel
Holiday travel tends to be about relaxing, not shopping, but just because there’s no Colette or Dover Street Market in sight doesn’t mean there’s no way to bring home a worthy souvenir. Hotel boutiques, formerly enclaves of sunscreen and snow globes, have been stepping up in recent years, offering selections to rival department stores—often with much closer proximity to the beach.
At hip Caribbean enclave Viceroy Anguilla, hotel retailer Seaside Luxe is building a zigzag-print tent on the beach in partnership with Missoni Home. The tent opens Christmas Day and features retractable walls and loungers where guests can catch some sun and browse items like Mara Hoffman caftans, Eugenia Kim sun hats, Jennifer Fisher jewelry, and a $350 limited-edition Missoni Home tote (above). “The guests here are buying items they’re going to wear [on vacation] and at home,” said Seaside Luxe founder Lee Ann Sauter.
At the Faena Hotel boutique in Buenos Aires, creative director Ximena Caminos curates a mix of high-end items with a Latin flare. She cites Panama hats by California-based brand Greenpacha and Brazilian bikinis by Nina Swim as must-have holiday items. “We do well with classic Argentine items like alpaca ponchos, traditional silver pieces, and carved crystal objets,” said Caminos, noting that she maintains the store’s local flavor by stocking a selection of wares by Argentine designers.Just a hop north at the Standard Shop in the Standard Hotel Miami, Comme des Garçons’ limited-edition holiday star pouches are the big get of the season. Also on hand are quirky home items like Maison Martin Margiela’s melting wax candles and the Berlin Boombox (above), a modern MP3 system disguised as an old-school boom box by Berlin-based designer Axel Pfaender. “We love small gifts that are easy to travel with, such as jewelry and accessories and special, rare hostess gifts,” said the store’s director of retail, Denise Downing.For those celebrating a classic New York Christmas, Opening Ceremony at the Ace Hotel is offering one-of-a-kind holiday items, like Le Labo candles, Kenzo iPhone cases (left), and Yoko Ono’s recently-released and much discussed menswear collaboration based on her illustrations from 1969. One-of-a-kind pieces are also a draw for those vacationing on the West Coast. Ayana Tribitt, retail curator at the SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills, is stocking the boutique with Nialaya bracelets that guests can customize on site. Their Assouline books always make for reliable gifts, while $2,500 Toro masks cater to the more adventurous shopper.
Farther south at the Cuixmala resort on Mexico’s Pacific Coast, the dress code is luxe-casual. Hotel owner Alix Marcaccini sets a relaxed tone at the boutique with caftans by Temperley and beachwear and accessories by Christophe Sauvat. “People here want sarongs and flip-flops, no heels, and long flowy dresses—anything comfortable,” said Marcaccini. “They’re looking for fluid, feminine, sensual clothes.”
Arrrgh, Real Monsters!
Next February, ARRRGH! Monstres de Mode, an exhibition presented by Greek collective Atopos CVC that highlights designers who distort and mask the human form with their fantastically frightening, sometimes grotesque garments, will land in Paris. Having debuted in Athens last year, the Vassilis Zidianakis-curated show is an extension of the book, Not a Toy, Fashioning Radical Characters, and highlights such shocking shape-shifters as Alexander McQueen, Gareth Pugh, Maison Martin Margiela, Charlie Le Mindu, and Walter van Beirendonck, as well as lesser-known young talents like Alex Mattsson and Leutton Postle. Emerging British menswear designer, Craig Green—who’s set to show his second collection in London next month with the MAN initiative—was tapped to create the identity of the exhibition. Green brought Atopos’ definition of monsters—described as “everything strange”—to life with four green and yellow figures that vaguely recall Pac-Man. “I wanted to make something that resembled a lo-fi graphic,” explained Green. The designer, who’s begun to make a name for himself with his art-meets-fashion concoctions, crafted his curious critters from wooden frames and stretched canvas. “They’re meant to be a family,” says Green. “So they fit together like male and female forms; they’re couples in love,” he explains.
Twenty-six-year-old Green, a Central Saint Martins graduate, has pieces from his 2012 M.A. collection, as well as a sculptural garment from his upcoming Fall 2013 collection, in the show. “I feel very fortunate to be featured alongside these mega designers, as well as small ones that I greatly respect.”
ARRRGH! Monstres de Monde opens on February 13 at La Gaîté Lyrique, located at 3bis, Rue Papin in Paris’ 3rd arrondissement.
It’s The End Of The World As We Know It, And We Feel Fine
According to the Mayan calendar, tomorrow, December 21, is doomsday. While most of us here at Style.com don’t quite buy into the whole apocalypse now theory, we did put some deep thought into what we’d wear for our final day on Earth. The general consensus among our staffers: If we’ve got to go, we’re going to go out with a bang. Market director Marina Larroudé says she’d like to be one of Peter Dundas’ carefree party girls for one last night in an Emilio Pucci minidress from Spring ’11. Others went for more avant-garde closing statements, like Rick Owens leathers straight out of Mad Max or the crystal-encrusted face masks from the Maison Martin Margiela Couture show in July. Leave it to the boys to think practically. Deputy editor Matthew Schneier selected a weatherproof Louis Vuitton ensemble complete with a utility backpack for survival essentials, while Tim Blanks opted for an Alexander McQueen gas mask (and its matching pink boiler suit).
CLICK FOR A SLIDESHOW of our editors’ apocalyptic pics.